February 10, 2025
JAKARTA – President Prabowo Subianto has, once again, shown reliance on the Indonesian Military (TNI) to make his administration’s priority programs a success, stoking concerns of military overreach into civilian affairs that could regress the country’s democracy and human rights.
Prabowo, a former Army general and defense minister, led the first ever National Defense Council (DPN) meeting at the Bogor Palace in West Java on Friday, during which he spoke up about his intentions to continue improving the nation’s defense capabilities to better protect the country amid rising geopolitical tensions.
“Defense is vital for our country, so much so that in the preamble of our [1945] Constitution, the first national goal is to protect the entire Indonesian nation and all of Indonesia’s territory,” Prabowo said.
The DPN was created through a presidential decree signed only last December, despite its formation being mandated some 23 years ago by the 2002 State Defense Law.
Defense Minister Sjafrie Samsoeddin, who is also the DPN’s executive chairman, said during the meeting last week that the council has a responsibility to propose strategic solutions to a wide array of issues affecting the country’s sovereignty.
“In the context of national defense, the DPN plays a role in formulating the nation’s defense policies, at least for the next five years,” Sjafrie said, as quoted by a release from the Presidential Secretariat.
In a meeting with commanders of military units from all three armed services later that day, Prabowo reiterated his wish to bolster the country’s defense, saying that the state’s main responsibility is to defend its own people.
“We can’t just protect [our country] with good intentions, words, writings or theories. Protecting is through power. If a country wants to truly be independent and prosperous, it must have the power to protect itself and its resources,” Prabowo said in his speech in front of more than 1,000 unit commanders.
Military involvement
In the three months since he took office, Prabowo has made efforts to expand the role of the TNI in several public programs, including his flagship free nutritious meals program for schoolchildren and pregnant women.
Last week, Prabowo also ordered soldiers to be deployed to help convert unused land into paddy fields as part of his administration’s efforts to achieve national food security.
Read also: Prabowo orders Army to work on food security
Prabowo also ordered the TNI to form a hundred special battalions and to deploy them to various regencies throughout the country to be involved in not only national defense, but also farming, fisheries and animal husbandry so they can help improve the welfare of local communities.
Defense Minister Sjafrie first revealed the initiative, called the 100 Territorial Development Battalions, during a meeting with lawmakers in November. He said at the time that it was part of Prabowo’s wishes for the TNI to have a “more-holistic approach”.
On Friday, TNI commander Gen. Agus Subiyanto thanked Prabowo for his decision to expand the military’s role in several of Prabowo’s people-centered programs.
“The TNI will continue to remain committed and loyal in carrying out these national priority programs, as part of the Asta Cita [eight-point campaign promises] that [Prabowo] has envisioned,” Agus said.
Slippery slope
Critics, however, have taken issue with Prabowo’s decision to involve the defense council and the TNI in civilian affairs.
Rights group Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid described Prabowo’s decision to involve the defense council and the TNI in civilian affairs as “misguided”, saying that it put the country’s state of democracy and human rights on a slippery slope back toward the lows of the New Order era.
“The involvement of the DPN and the TNI in matters outside of defense will revive the military’s New Order-era ‘dual function’, which left a legacy of serious human rights violations that have not been resolved until now,” Usman said on Sunday.
He was referring to a system which allowed the military during the New Order era to take up posts in government and at the national legislature, effectively turning it into a tool for late president Soeharto – Prabowo’s father in-law – to stamp out political dissidents.
Read also: Prabowo orders military, police personnel to protect citizens
Military expert Al Araf said that having the DPN and the TNI meddle in affairs outside of the military would instead run counter to Prabowo’s wish to improve the country’s defense capabilities.
“The DPN should strictly aid the President when it comes to anticipating external threats,” Araf said. “Similarly, our soldiers’ main task is to train themselves to defend the country in times of war. They can’t do that when they’re busy cooking [for the free meals program].”
Presidential Communications Office head Hasan Nasbi was not immediately available for comment when contacted by The Jakarta Post on Sunday.